Had a hit on Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park

aimr75

aimr75

Hall of Fame
Thought i'd share a pretty cool experience having a hit on Margaret Court Arena at Melb Park, home of the Aussie Open.. its the 3rd largest arena/show court next to rod laver arena and hisense.. pretty surreal hitting there.. huge amount of space on the base line and around the court and also surrounded by empty seats.. im used to just playing public courts :)

Ive been recovering from an ankle sprain, an ASO brace im using helps alot, but its still a bit tender.. managed to get some footage though hitting casually

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A1JtMOyQzA

:)

and show court 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On9kOw7-UNk
 
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dozu

dozu

Banned
way way cool, mate !

ask Photoshop to put some crowd in those chairs, and you can show this to your grandchildren someday.

handshakes from a fellow ASO brace user.
 
WildVolley

WildVolley

Legend
Very nice. Good hitting too.

How much more space behind the court would you say compared to the normal courts you play on? You know when you see a ball smack off the back of those courts that it would really clang a fence on a regular depth court.
 
tennis_balla

tennis_balla

Hall of Fame
eidolonshinobi said:
Awesome! I wonder what it feels like to play in a pro stadium..even if it is void of an audience.
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Good and bad, depends on the venue. If its a really opened stadium, and with no banner ads and people, the wind can play havoc with the ball. Then theres the echo of an empty stadium which you can hear in the video as well.
 
D

Deleted member 120290

Guest
That video is exactly what it would look like if Fed kept playing for 10 years, in Qualies of AO 2021. No one watching, waaaay past due date. :-(
 
FedError

FedError

Semi-Pro
I'm lucky enough to have hit there too a few times, as part of my school sports program. Sadly, I've left school now so I don't have opportunities to play at Melbourne Park anymore.
 
aimr75

aimr75

Hall of Fame
cellofaan said:
That is so cool!. How did you manage that?
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was lucky enough to get a 6 month membership as a gift :)

WildVolley said:
How much more space behind the court would you say compared to the normal courts you play on? You know when you see a ball smack off the back of those courts that it would really clang a fence on a regular depth court.
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I would say at least 3 times the space of a public court for example. Usually there would be less space when the aus open is on due to the barriers and linespeople though

NLBwell said:
What racket is that?
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its a vantage
 
Devilito

Devilito

Hall of Fame
i like how you load up on your forehand 10/10

Wish i could hit in a setting like that. You should have got your friend to go up to the first row and film you from there, TV view style :) Would have probably made the video a bit more interesting to see the entire rally
 
0d1n

0d1n

Hall of Fame
aimr75 said:
was lucky enough to get a 6 month membership as a gift :)


I would say at least 3 times the space of a public court for example. Usually there would be less space when the aus open is on due to the barriers and linespeople though


its a vantage
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Very cool setting. Have a friend who hit on the AO open courts as well...and I envy him (and you :p).

Oh...is that the mid or the MP (95) ?? I know you own both.
 
dozu

dozu

Banned
after reviewing the video... I believe airm75 is really Sennoc in disguise... you know, with the cap and glasses on to hide his true identity!
 
0d1n

0d1n

Hall of Fame
dozu said:
after reviewing the video... I believe airm75 is really Sennoc in disguise... you know, with the cap and glasses on to hide his true identity!
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Except he has much cleaner technique even though he doesn't pretend to be some biomechanics genius like the other guy.
I've also never seen him pretend he volleys better than Nadal :).
 
dozu

dozu

Banned
0d1n said:
Except he has much cleaner technique even though he doesn't pretend to be some biomechanics genius like the other guy.
I've also never seen him pretend he volleys better than Nadal :).
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actually we need both Sennoc and JS back, one can critique the differences to Fed's swing, the other can comment on how that airm75's near-conti bh grip is impossible to generate topspin.
 
10ACE

10ACE

Professional
NICE!! how did the court feel is it grainier like the say- and softer too? I play on hard courts that are super fast and feel like brick!

Nice strokes too!! ankle sprains blow- recovering from one right now too. Good luck
 
aimr75

aimr75

Hall of Fame
Devilito said:
i like how you load up on your forehand 10/10

Wish i could hit in a setting like that. You should have got your friend to go up to the first row and film you from there, TV view style :) Would have probably made the video a bit more interesting to see the entire rally
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If i get a chance to play there again, will try get some footage at various angles

Devilito said:
it's similar. I'd be surprised if he said Federer's forehand didn't influence his shot in some way
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I was brought up using an eastern grip which stuck, and have had a straightish hitting arm structure since i can remember, so i've incorporated what i was already doing with some cues from the fed.. regardless of how it looks though, taking cues has helped in certain areas like keeping the swing more compact, trying to stay loose and hopefully less arming (which i continue to struggle with)

0d1n said:
Very cool setting. Have a friend who hit on the AO open courts as well...and I envy him (and you :p).

Oh...is that the mid or the MP (95) ?? I know you own both.
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yeah i have both which i go back and forth between.. was using the mid that day :)

dozu said:
actually we need both Sennoc and JS back, one can critique the differences to Fed's swing, the other can comment on how that airm75's near-conti bh grip is impossible to generate topspin.
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if by near conti you mean eastern, then yeah ;) sometimes i might not turn the grip enough, one of my many issues

10ACE said:
NICE!! how did the court feel is it grainier like the say- and softer too? I play on hard courts that are super fast and feel like brick!

Nice strokes too!! ankle sprains blow- recovering from one right now too. Good luck
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Doesnt feel too grainy, but not smooth either.. its a very nice playing surface.. certainly not super fast

yep, sprains are not fun.. ive had too many i care to remember so will most likely continue to wear a brace even when its fully healed from here on
 
Donny0627

Donny0627

Professional
aimr75 said:
Thought i'd share a pretty cool experience having a hit on Margaret Court Arena at Melb Park, home of the Aussie Open.. its the 3rd largest arena/show court next to rod laver arena and hisense.. pretty surreal hitting there.. huge amount of space on the base line and around the court and also surrounded by empty seats.. im used to just playing public courts :)

Ive been recovering from an ankle sprain, an ASO brace im using helps alot, but its still a bit tender.. managed to get some footage though hitting casually

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A1JtMOyQzA

:)
Click to expand...

I ENVY YOUUUUUUUUUUUU :twisted: :)
 
aimr75

aimr75

Hall of Fame
Limpinhitter said:
Good hitting, again. Is it just me, or does that view makes the court look a bit compressed and the ball flight distorted.
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its probably just the angle it was shot at.. the vid resolution wasnt modified or anything. I managed to get up where the seats are to position the camera.. was too lazy though to go back up and move it around to different positions :)
 
Devilito

Devilito

Hall of Fame
aimr75 said:
its probably just the angle it was shot at.. the vid resolution wasnt modified or anything. I managed to get up where the seats are to position the camera.. was too lazy though to go back up and move it around to different positions :)
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next time try to get the entire court so we can see where the ball lands. Maybe play some casual baseline points or something as well. Great hitting though as always :p PS Did you switch racquets again to a Prestige?
 
aimr75

aimr75

Hall of Fame
Devilito said:
next time try to get the entire court so we can see where the ball lands. Maybe play some casual baseline points or something as well. Great hitting though as always :p PS Did you switch racquets again to a Prestige?
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yep, will get that vantage point next time.. with the racquet, its a YT prestige mid, just been trying it out lately, not really switched.. its a very solid frame, just the grip bothers me a bit, mainly with the backhand
 
Devilito

Devilito

Hall of Fame
aimr75 said:
yep, will get that vantage point next time.. with the racquet, its a YT prestige mid, just been trying it out lately, not really switched.. its a very solid frame, just the grip bothers me a bit, mainly with the backhand
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Yeah, going from a Wilson shape to Head is a huge change in grip shape. Took a few practices to fully feel comfortable with it. I currently use a Prestige MP switching from a PS85 and other Six One Tour derivatives. The grip took some adjusting but the larger head size did cut back on shanked shots. Curious to see you get out and hit with the Donnay you have coming.

PS. I won't lie, i'm seriously jealous about the opportunity you have to hit on those courts. I’d love to get a camera out there and film myself just once.
 
aimr75

aimr75

Hall of Fame
Devilito said:
Yeah, going from a Wilson shape to Head is a huge change in grip shape. Took a few practices to fully feel comfortable with it. I currently use a Prestige MP switching from a PS85 and other Six One Tour derivatives. The grip took some adjusting but the larger head size did cut back on shanked shots. Curious to see you get out and hit with the Donnay you have coming.

PS. I won't lie, i'm seriously jealous about the opportunity you have to hit on those courts. I’d love to get a camera out there and film myself just once.
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im looking forward to trying out the donnay, however USPS takes forever to ship here.. its been about 3 weeks already.

I definitely dont take it for granted hitting there.. feel lucky having an opportunity to hit at a world class venue
 
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